Forever, Mom

I didn’t know then,

The first day I saw your face.

How you held my heart,

As close as your embrace.

I had no idea,

As each day I grew with you,

The love and the lessons,

That were forming solid truths.

I couldn’t see just how,

No matter what I did,

Your loving arms were waiting,

In that safe place you knew to build.

I wasn’t always aware,

Of how precious our time was,

Or how brief the years of daily,

Were fleeting in their cause.

I took so much for granted,

All the nurture that you gave,

My heart stood so securely,

Surrounded by your grace.

I didn’t know it then,

But today I see it clear.

Forever I am grateful, Mom,

To know Forever,

Your Love so dear.

Wendi Maddox

Author’s Look~

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND!

There is no greater gift in this world than a Mother’s love. It’s magical, transformational, and foundational.

My heart is truly grateful- FOREVER . . . for the love and care my Mom has invested in me- my whole life. I knew at an early age that I was blessed with a special Mom. She “momed” in a different era, where Pintrest perfect pressure didn’t exist, but I don’t think she would be swayed by it even now.

She wasn’t about any of that, and certainly was not putting on the “Jaci Show” for anyone to watch. I always felt that she marched to the beat of her own drum and convictions. If she believed it, she lived it, and she taught it to her children. That’s it, plain and simple.

There were no grey areas.

You knew where she stood and she didn’t waiver. This embedded my belief in the things that she told me that were true. She didn’t put on airs for anyone, and I always knew she was grounded.

That made her love, care, and influence feel safe. There was security there under her wings of love. She meant no ill will and only wished good for her children.

Was she perfect? If you felt I was going down that road with all of the compliments, I apologize for the wrong turn:) She is human, and with that, came her mistakes, her stressed out moments (8 kids will definitely bring that on), hot tempers and bad days. I’m a Mom now- I can relate (well, not to the 8 kids-YIKES!) But, those bad days did not define her as a Mom. They were easy to forgive and move past, because we gave her the same kind of grace that she daily gave to us, and our human ways:)

TEACHER

That’s the word that stands out the most for me, as I look back on my years growing up with Mom. She taught with her words, but she taught even stronger with her actions.

She pointed me to Jesus, and she showed me how to run on with Him all of my days. She taught me Faith, and the Power of Jesus Christ. She taught me how to PRAY, how to grow in reading God’s Word, how to NEVER stop believing GOD CAN, and HE WILL! She taught me Faithfulness to His work and the body of Christ, and more than anything. . .she taught me about Heaven and how to spend ETERNITY there.

I know now, how fortunate that I really am. I’ve been given a precious gift in this life. Her name is Jaci Carrigan, but I call her, MOM

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (ESV) . . .And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

THANKS MOM! You Momed well:)